A Late Preclassic Distance Number - Mesoweb

A Late Preclassic Distance Number
coefficient for days on the San Bartolo block would be the
potential “zero” superfix just discussed, as it appears to
extend into the left corner, covering both the main sign
and the prefix or the whole horizontal space of the glyph
block. The two dots in the prefix, a graphically reasonable
“two,” would correspond to the uinal portion of the
DN, since it covers its vertical space. In other words, the
morphological segmentation of pA4 and the analysis of
its affixes suggests that it begins a new sentence, with
the narrative projected either backwards or forwards in
time. 6
A further clue in support of the presence of both a
PE and a DN on the San Bartolo block might come from
the glyph that immediately follows (Figure 6a). This
glyph has a pronounced formal similarity to the socalled
“Bearded God” glyph (Figure 6b-d). Although
pA5 is partially erased at its upper left, its most
prominent characteristic includes the characteristic
descending curved lines of the Bearded God’s “beard.”
The sign remains undeciphered, but several scholars
have analyzed its contexts and suggested that it represents
either a possessive pronoun or a dedicatory
verb (Chinchilla and Fahsen 1991; Fahsen 1988; Mora-
Marín 2008a:1062-1064). 7 A DN followed by a possessive
pronoun or a verb falls well within the expected
parameters of later Classic-period texts (Kettunen and
Helmke 2011:50).
As matters stand, the segmentation of pA4 into
affixes is suggestive of the probable presence of coefficients.
One of these is almost certainly “two,” another
somewhat less certainly “zero.” Additionally, pA4 may
fall between a PE clause (pA1-pA3) and a Bearded God
glyph providing either a possessive pronoun or a verb
6
In Classic inscriptions, DNs are of course followed by what
are called “Anterior Date Indicators” (ADI) or “Posterior Date
Indicators” (PDI), since they indicate either an earlier date or a later
date with respect to the present narrative timeline, respectively
(see Kettunen and Helmke 2011:54). No ADI or PDI glyphs appear
on the San Bartolo stone block, rendering the narrative’s temporal
projection difficult to discern at present.
7
Stephen Houston (personal communication 2012) cautions
that this sign is very similar to later glyphs for Mam “grandfather,
ancestor,” so absent a clear decipherment all of these suggestions
should be taken under advisement. Chinchilla and Fahsen (1991)
argue for a connection with the “God N” glyph common in ceramic
dedicatory texts, now frequently read T’AB-yi, t’abaay “ascended,
raised, dedicated” (Kettunen and Helmke 2011:100). Mora-Marín
(2008b) specifically relates the San Bartolo glyph to a Late Preclassic
jade pendant (K763 in Justin Kerr’s Mesoamerican Portfolio at
MayaVase.com), reading both as u-ni’ pa’ chan ajaw “the nose/tip/
peak of the Split Sky lord.” Nonetheless, I am more inclined to view
it as an ergative pronoun or dedicatory verb introducing nominal
phrases.
(pA5). Because of the lack of a substantial corpus of Late
Preclassic inscriptions, the present argument is inevitably
exploratory in nature. It is my hope, however, that I
have been able to present sufficient evidence to suggest
that pA4 may represent a Preclassic Distance Number.
If pA4 indeed represents a Distance Number, then
an interesting implication is the likelihood that the
glyphic complexity well known from Classic hieroglyphic
narratives was already in place by at least the
Late Preclassic period. At the same time, if the superfix
on pA4 proves to be an early version of the number
“zero,” then it represents the earliest glyphic example
of such a number in Mesoamerica, and arguably one
of the earliest instances in the history of writing where
“zero” appears as an autonomous and independently
employed number (Blume 2011; Ifrah 2000; Kaplan 2000;
Seife 2000).
Acknowledgements
c
a
Figure 6. Comparison of Glyph pA5 to other inscriptions: (a) glyph
pA5 of the San Bartolo stone block (drawing by David Stuart);
glyph A1 from the Yale Jaguar Figurine from the Peabody Museum
(drawing by David Mora-Marín, from Mora-Marín 2008:Fig. 2a); (c)
glyph A4 from the Museo del Jade Fidel Tristán spoon (drawing
by David Mora-Marín, from Mora-Marín 2008:Fig. 2b); (d) glyph
A1 from an unprovenienced jade pendant, no. 753 in Justin Kerr’s
Mesoamerican Portfolio at MayaVase.com (drawing by David
Mora-Marín, from Mora-Marín 2008:Fig. 2c).
I thank James Brady, Stephen Houston, Brian Stross,
Gerardo Aldana and the anonymous reviewers for so
generously taking the time from their busy lives to read
earlier drafts of this paper and for providing comments
and suggestions, as well as objections, from which this
work has benefited considerably. I also thank The Paul
and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans for
their support during the preparation of this paper.
b
d
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